VKs' Childhood
by nerdycook24
Summary: We know that they never had the best childhood. We know that they never had much love and that life was tough. How tough was it, exactly? Why do Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos never talk about it? What happened. Warning: Mentions of abuse, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts Disclaimer: I do NOT own Descendants.
1. Chapter 1: Evie's Past

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Descendants!

The descendants of the villains and heroes were all hanging out in Ben's room in his castle. Since the school year ended, everyone had become friends. Chad and Audrey even apologized for their behavior towards the villain kids.

Evie was talking to Audrey about makeup, Jane and Carlos were playing with Dude, and Mal was drawing. Jay and Chad were talking about tourney, Lonnie was listening to music, and Ben and Doug were talking about how Mal and Evie never talked about their childhood. That's when Ben stole the show.

"How was life like on the Isle?"

The entire room became silent. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the villain kids, awaiting their response.

Jay had a poker face on, Carlos looked shocked, Evie's face paled, and Mal expressed no emotion. It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

Suddenly, Mal broke the silence, "Why do you want to know?"

"Well it occurred to me that you never told us," Ben replied.

"We did that for a reason," Jay fired back.

"We are your friends. Don't you think we deserve to know?" Everyone besides the four agreed. Ben kept on trying to convince them. However, they didn't budge.

It was Doug who ultimately sold the deal. "Look, we obviously want to know what happened but, if you guys aren't comfortable sharing, that's fine. We just want you to know that you can trust us, we'll all be here for you, and we'll even share our stories if you like."

The four looked at each other. It seemed to be that they were communicating without saying a word. Suddenly, Mal and Jay groaned loudly. Evie was the one who informed the other descendants of their decision. "If it really means that much to you guys, we'll tell you. Although, it's probably going to be much harsher than you expected."

"I think we can handle it," Ben said.

"Okay then. Instead of telling you the stories, we figured that it would be better to show you. For this to work, everyone has to hold hands." Everyone did as Mal commanded.

"Alright, Evie your first," Mal stated.

"Why me?"

"Your childhood was probably the easiest out of all of ours. We'll show you Aurdon kids our lives starting with the easiest to most harsh and difficult. Okay?"

All the heads in the room nodded in understanding.

"Evie, once I cast the spell, you just think of a memory you want to show to us and we will be able to see it."

Once Mal cast her spell, a scene immediately appeared.

"We don't have to stay in a circle. You just have to always have contact with someone. Otherwise, you won't be able to see."

Then, Chad and Jane broke contact with each other, thus breaking the circle, so that everyone was now in a straight line across Ben's enormous room, watching the scene unfold.

 _"Evie! Did you finish cleaning your room yet?" The Evil Queen yelled._

 _"I finished Mommy," Little Evie responded._

 _Her room was gigantic! It had a queen-sized bed with a sheer gold princess canopy hovering above. The comforter and pillow covers were a gorgeous navy blue color. She arranged it so that the rips on the fabric wasn't visible and even organized her broken makeup._

 _The Evil Queen barged in and observed her daughter's cleaning skills. "Evie! This room is a mess!"_

 _Evie's face fell. The room was perfectly clean and organized. "Mommy-"_

 _The Evil Queen cut her off by yelling, "Not a word. Look, there's dust everywhere, the sheets on your bed are wrinkled, and your makeup isn't organized like how I told you to fix it! How are you supposed to marry a prince? Ugh, you're a disgrace. Make sure this room is spotless by the time I came back up here." Then, she slammed the door in six-year-old Evie's face._

 _Her mascara started to run when tears streamed down her beautiful face. So, she hurriedly cleaned up her room and fixed her makeup before her mom came back to check on her. Evie just hoped her best effort was good enough or else..._

Suddenly, the memory started to get blurry.

 _"Evie! Your makeup!"_

 _"What's wrong with it?"_

 _"Everything! There's not enough blush on your face, one eyebrow is thicker than the other, and your foundation isn't blended well enough! How are you supposed to win a prince's heart like this? How are you supposed to marry one? You're such a disappointment!"_

 _"Mommy, I did everything right! You're just a perfectionist!"_

 _The Evil Queen was shocked for about a second before slapping her daughter's face. It was enough to knock Evie down on to the floor while the sound echoed thorough the room._

 _"Don't ever talk back to me! I'll check up on you in 30 minutes, you better look flawless."_

 _As she exited the room, Evie pushed herself up and trudged to her bed. When she flopped down, her hand sneaked its way up to the area where her mother had slapped her. It stung badly when her fingers made contact with the skin. It didn't take a genius to figure out that a bruise would appear any time soon._

The scene was getting more and more blurry to the point where it was no longer visible. Soon, everyone came back to reality.

No dared to speak. The kids from Aurdon were shocked at what they had just witnessed.

Evie touched her left cheek, the one that was slapped. It was sad how that wasn't the worst encounter she had with her mother.

"We both know that wasn't your worst memory," Mal blurted out.

All the Aurdon kids' jaws dropped.

Doug asked, "What is worse than what she already showed us?"

Evie squeezed his hand while saying, "You really did grow up in Aurdon. There's much more harsh things that they did to us. I didn't show you because it would probably be too much for you people to handle."

Doug looked at her with sympathy. "Show us."

Evie looked at her friends for approval. All three of them nodded. Instantly, a new memory emerged.

 _The Evil Queen and Evie were in Evie's room talking about which shade of lipstick looks best on Evie. Out of nowhere, Evie asked, "Why don't you ever teach me more about the other school subjects? You know, so I can be smart."_

 _"Evie, a prince will never care about how smart you are. They just want a good wife who knows how sew, cook, and clean. They want a wife like Cinderella."_

 _"But Mommy, not every prince is like that. Maybe you're just old fashioned."_

 _Immediately, the Evil Queen's hand made contact with her daughter's face. The impact was strong enough to knock Evie down._

 _The second she hit the floor, the world started spinning. Despite the excruciating pain, Evie immediately stood back up to face her mother._

 _"So, you've decide to fight back."_

 _"I shouldn't have to if you would start listening to me."_

 _"Everything I do is for you!"_

 _"No! It's not! You're trying to live through me! You're trying to teach me how to become a wife. No, let me rephrase that, you're trying to make me a maid! I'll never get a prince this way! I'll never get a prince at all! You know why? It's because we live on this island! There are no princes here!"_

 _The entire time during Evie's rant, the Evil Queen's face remained still and expressionless._

 _"How dare you? I'm just trying to make you-"_

 _"- into you. You are trying to make me into you. I'm more than just a-"_

 _"Silence!" The Evil_ Queen lifted her han _d so that it rested on Evie's cheek. "Oh darling, how foolish of you. Like I said, everything I do is for you. I'm only trying to make you like me because I'm the best person you can be. I mean, it's true, you'll never achieve this level of perfection. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't want to be second place."_

 _The moment she stopped talking, a loud slap was heard across the castle. The force of the slap caused Evie to fall down immediately. She clutched her now bloody cheek and willed herself not to cry._

 _The Evil Queen didn't even wince. "You need a little color on your face anyways. You're too pale."_

 _Then, she started to kick her fallen daughter in the arms, legs, and stomach. "You need to lose weight. You're too fat. Its making you look even more hideous. You know what, no dinner for you tonight! On second thought, I'm putting you on a diet."_

 _Although she didn't show it, Evie was extremely terrified. Diets usually lasted up to one month. She was getting fed even less than her already tiny food portions. It was basically a spoonful of food every day. The Evil Queen didn't care if Evie got sick. All she ever cared about was that Evie would be the second fairest of them all._

" _You know, I could do so much worse right now. But, I don't want all my hard work to be wasted just because you refuse to follow orders. I didn't have to keep you but, I did. Your only purpose in life is to marry a prince and make me royalty again. Understand!"_

 _Evie nodded weakly._

" _Good. I'm glad to see that I've finally knocked some sense into that small brain of yours. Well, it works out anyways. You don't need a brain to be pretty." she yelled at her daughter._

 _Before she left the room, she turned around to say," Remember, I love you. Don't make me regret it." With that, the Evil Queen sashayed out of the room, leaving a bloody Evie crying on the floor._

When everyone was brought back into reality, silence filled the entire room. Lonnie was silently crying and the rest of the kids had tears in their eyes- that is of course- everyone except the villain kids.

Doug immediately let go of Audrey's hand. The, he captured Evie in a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know." His voiced cracked on the last word.

"It's okay. You couldn't have known." Evie replied.

After what seemed like eternity, they let go of each other. Mal was the one to finally say something," Have you guys had enough?"

It was only then that the Aurdon kids realized that Mal had said that Evie had the easiest childhood. "Wow. I would have never imagined that that was the things you guys had to go through. That was horrible!" Ben exclaimed.

"That wasn't the question," Carlos stated.

Ben had an unreadable expression on his face. Anger? Sadness? Pity? "No. We want to see how bad it was back there. We want to understand. At least try to. Right?" One by one, the rest of the Aurdon kids nodded their heads.

"Okay. Who's next?" Mal asked in the most monotone voice possible.

Carlos was the one to answer," You."

"Why me?"

"Believe it or not, some of us had worse childhoods than you, Mal. Your mother might be the Mistress of Evil but, she certainly didn't punish you as bad as she could have. Or, as bad as my mother did to me." He growled. It was so unexpected that Jane shrunk back a little at his tone.

"Did she do something that we don't know about?" Evie asked.

Carlos stared at the floor. He took a deep breath," You'll find out later."

"Ca-"Jay started.

He interrupted his best friend with," No! Don't start. Mal's next. Then, you. I'm last. I'll show you what real terror and punishment is like."

Everyone was so surprised at this new side of Carlos that they were finally seeing. Jane even let go of his hand before immediately taking it back and squeezing it tighter than before.

Mal opened her mouth several times to try to say something but, what came out was a barely audible whisper. "Okay."

Everything suddenly became blurry.


	2. Chapter 2: Mal's Past

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Descendants!

 _"Mal! Go me get food!" she heard her mother yell._

 _Mal groaned loudly before dragging herself out of bed. She couldn't have been more than 12 years old during this time._

 _She quickly put her worn-out boots on and hopped out of the window._

 _Mal didn't walk far before she reached her destination. Her sticky hands quickly grabbed some barely bruised apples and bananas that_ _weren't too mushy from one stand._

 _From another, she stole up some stale bread when the owner wasn't looking._

 _Finally, she walked into the Slop Shop to pick up some barley oatmeal and the bitterest coffee they served. She laughed all the way back to Bargain Castle as the goblins tried to catch her and ended up tripping over each other._

 _As she barged in through the doors, Mal marched all the way up to the kitchen. She found Maleficent sitting at the dining room table with her feet up while filing her nails. "You took forever," she said without even looking up._

 _Mal tensed up before answering with a simple," Sorry."_

 _When her mother finally looked straight into Mal's eyes, she seemed very annoyed. "You're late. You can't even get some food without messing up."_

 _When Mal dumped the contents of food on the counter, her mother looked as if she got even more annoyed. "Mal! Where is Diablo's food?"_

 _"I didn't think he needed any," Mal replied in a snappy tone that she immediately regretted. "Sor-"_

 _She was cut off when she felt her mother's hand on her throat. "You know, I would slightly be proud if you used that tone with anyone else." Her hand clamped Mal's throat even harder. "However, don't ever use that tone with me. Or else, you'll get way worse than me grounding you for an entire week."_

 _When she finally let go, Mal fell to the floor, gasping for air and continued to do so for what felt like forever._

 _"I honestly don't know anymore. I have taught you everything I know and you can't even do anything slightly evil. You are such a waste of life. Why couldn't I have given birth to someone who_ coul _d have thought of a better crime than spray painting the Isle?"_

 _Tears had formed in Mal's eyes during Maleficent's rant. When she saw this, her foot came into contact with Mal's head._

 _"You are just like your father. Weak. Soft. This is why you will never have your full name. You will never be as half as evil as me! You might as well be the disgrace that is the goblins. I honestly can't believe you have my DNA coursing through your veins. You are not good for anything!"_

 _Mal squirmed and looked at her mother with hurt and pain evident in her eyes._

 _Maleficent chuckled evilly. "You know, I take that back. You are useful for something. You make a great servant and a good punching bag. Maybe that will be your purpose in life. You little pathetic waste of it."_

 _"You are the biggest embarrassment, problem, and waste of time I've ever had." She kicked, punched and scratched Mal with every word she said, each scratch drawing more blood than the last._

 _Then, she showed Mal how to raise that one finger that every kid on the Isle had learned to do before they learned how to talk. Finally, she exited the room, cackling._

 _After that, Mal ran into her room to check the damage Maleficent had done to her_.

 _Her mother's handprint was so visible that you could see it from all the way across the island. Mal slowly brought her own fingers to touch it. A hiss of pain escaped from her mouth as her eyes watered._

 _"No! Crying is for the weak. You're not weak," she told herself before grabbing a towel, running it under cold water, and placing it on her bruises. This was the only option seeing as there was no ice in the freezer. Mal pressed the wet towel to her neck before climbing into bed and falling asleep, the thought of dinner completely slipping her mind._

 _The memory instantly became blurry._

 _Mal soon reappeared. This time, she was in her bathroom. The mark on her neck from the previous memory wasn't there anymore. Judging by her appearance, this memory could not have taken place more than a year before since she arrived in Aurdon._

 _Mal was looking at herself in the only part of her mirror that wasn't cracked or scratched._

 _The shocking part was her appearance. Everyone knew Mal to be a strong, brave, and independent person. What everyone saw was someone another side to her that they never thought existed._

 _This version of her image was a million times worse than the one in the last memory. There were prominent bags under her eyes and a couple new found purple bruise on her cheeks stood out against her porcelain skin._

 _Her eyes were red and puffy. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she had been crying for a very long time. Her eyes showed signs of immense pain and weariness, emotions that no one should ever feel. Yet, there she was._

 _Her choppy violet hair looked like something out of a horror movie. So, her hair basically reflected her life._

 _As if this image of a vulnerable Mal wasn't incredibly shocking enough, the worst part was the fact that Mal kept whispering, "At least she didn't throw the knife at you this time."_

 _She then bit her lip long enough to draw blood. "You are not a failure. You are evil. You are ruthless." she whispered to herself._

The memory became fuzzy only to reappear a second later.

 _Mal now stood in her usual purple motorcycle jacket and ripped jeans. She looked refreshed and ready to take over the world._

 _As she threw a variety of spray paint in her backpack, she proceeded to break down in tears multiple times before stopping herself each time._

 _Then, Mal proceeded to curl up into a ball and whisper to herself. "I'm n-not a failure. I'm ruthless. I'm evil!"_

 _After a couple of moments, she let out a blood curling scream that would surely be heard on the other side of the Isle while rocking back and forth._

 _Shakily, she picked herself up and wiped away any signs of weakness. She wiped away all of her tears._

 _Finally, she stomped back into her bathroom, opened a drawer, and pulled out a small knife that sparkled in the faint light. Without any hesitation, she slashed the blade into her skin, making a horizontal mark._

The memory became blurry once more until it completely disappeared.

As everyone was brought back into reality, the horrible truth settled in. Before anyone could say anything else, Mal beat them to it. "I, um, cut the memory short cause I didn't want you guys to see the rest."

As she uttered those words, her eyes became watery until a tear finally escaped and was wiped off as soon as it came. She made fist with her left hands until it turned white while she dug her fingernails into the skin of her right hand.

When Ben snapped out of his trance, he turned his body so that he was able to look Mal dead in her eyes.

Brown met green in the most intense stare ever given. Mal's was full of curiosity, wondering what his reaction to what she just showed him. However, Ben's was full of compassion.

"Please don't pity me. I know what I did. I acted on instinct. I'm not proud of what I did but, I don't regret anything." She looked away from his now blank stare and focused her attention on everyone else's faces. They seemed surprised or in Evie's case in complete denial. That is, everyone except for one person.

Mal continued with," If I didn't do what I did, I wouldn't be the person I am today. It changed me. It made me stronger. Once I stopped, it gave me a backbone against other people's hateful words."

" I'm- I- I," Ben took a deep breath," C- can you show us why you stopped?"

Everyone immediately locked hands again.

 _"I am useful. I am not worthless. I am evil. People fear me." Mal muttered as she stared at her new cuts. Her grip on the blade was tight enough so that her knuckles turned white._

 _"Doing that won't prove anything to anyone," a voice said._

 _Mal turned around to face the voice. The image of the person was blurred out completely so that nobody saw who it was._

 _"How long have you been standing there? Do you have a death wish?" Mal questioned._

 _"No, I don't, but apparently, you do." the voice answered, completely avoiding the first question._

 _Mal stared at the person who had enough guts to talk to her like that._

 _"What do you gain when you do that? If you're truly evil, if you want to prove that you're evil, you would rather be destroying other's lives instead of your own. Otherwise, me fearing you, is a waste of my time." the voice said before making a quick exit._

The memory blurred and everyone was brought back into the present.

"It wasn't the best way to encourage someone to stop but, at that time, all I ever cared about was being the worst I could be. He reminded me of that. If my mother didn't think I was horrible enough, everyone else did. From that moment on, I quit and became more evil than ever. Everybody cowered at the mention of my name, they all feared me. At that point, I grew a backbone against my mother's words. Ultimately, I stopped caring whenever someone tried to put me down. I believed that I was good enough and I defended myself against anyone who dared to say otherwise. I like to think that that was the reason why she ultimately quit putting me down." Mal declared.

Ben broke the silence that followed," Why didn't you tell me?"

Mal let go of his hand and simply responded with," It didn't come up. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but, I wanted to wait before I told anyone. I figured that this was the right time to say something, in front of all my friends."

Ben, being the person he was, accepted her statement immediately, all of his frustration completely evaporating. He understood the pressure of living up to someone's expectations. Although he tried his best, someone would always be disappointed. Ben looked past it and continued on. In a way, his and Mal's pasts were somewhat similar.

He pulled Mal into a bear hug. In her ear, he whispered, "This doesn't change how I feel about you. You're still the strongest, bravest, and most loyal person I know. In my eyes, you have no flaws."

After he said that, Mal grinned from ear to ear. She was glad that he didn't think any less of her. When they pulled away, she was crushed into another hug. This time, it was Evie.

After a couple of seconds, they pulled apart and Evie joked, "I'm guess I have to thank this mystery person for knocking some sense into you."

"Yeah. Probably should." Mal laughed as she wiped away a tear from Evie's face,"Don't cry. You're going to ruin your makeup." Everyone shared a small chuckle at the statement.

Jay was next. Instead of hugging her like Evie and Ben did, he lightly punched her arm. "Don't scare me like that," he added before lightly punching her again.

Mal noticed his watery eyes and asked him he had been crying.

He responded with, "No. I don't- I did. My sister made me cry"

Mal raised her eyebrow and hugged him. "It takes a real man to admit that Jay. I'm proud of you." He chuckled softly and punched her for the third time before going back to his place in line.

Everyone proceeded to tell Mal their thoughts on the subject. Carlos was the only who didn't share his thoughts on the subject. Instead, his face remained stoic as it was since the end of the memory. They all questioned why he didn't say anything but, Mal understood. She understood why.

She took a deep breath and told everyone to get back to their places and hold hands once more.

It was Jay's turn.


	3. Chapter 3: Jay Past (Part 1)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Descendants!

Everything was blurry for a couple of seconds before Jay reappeared.

 _This time, he_ _was in an alley with Mal_. _Jay was dressed in maroon leather jacket and jeans with rips_ _and zippers. Mal just wore her signature purple and green leather jacket and purple and black jeans._

 _They were in a dim alley sorting out a bunch of stolen items into two piles. It looked as if Jay's pile was bigger but, Mal had more small items._

 _"I win again," Mal gloated._

 _Jay sighed out loud and replied, "I'll get you tomorrow. If you didn't steal that watch, I would've had more stuff than you."_

 _"It doesn't matter. I always win. I am better_ _than you. Never forget that."_

 _Jay hurried to collect his things, hiding them in various compartments in his clothes. Since he couldn't hide the rug in his clothes, he just rolled it up._

 _Jay and Mal bid farewell to each other and parted ways. As he slipped into his father's shop, he immediately heard Iago whining about being hungry. Meanwhile, Jafar looked as if he was trying his absolute best to not strangle his pet._

 _"I'm home," Jay announced._

 _Both of them jumped at the sound of his voice. Immediately, Jay was bombarded with questions. Iago asked if he had food while Jafar only cared about the things Jay stole._

 _Rolling his eyes, Jay stuffed a cracker in Iago's mouth, exactly like how the former sultan used to do. However, instead of spitting it out, the bird ate it gladly, knowing that the crackers would be the only thing he could eat for a while._

 _Before he could even register what was happening, Jay felt something hit the back of his head. It was like one of those cartoons where one of the characters gets hit with a skillet and you see the word BONG!_

 _When he made contact with the ground, he could practically feel every bone his body breaking and then lighting itself on fire. The only thing he could register were the spots dancing around in his eyes and the constant ringing in his ears that was like a gong repeatedly being hit._

 _"How dare you ignore me?"_

 _Jay barely had time to register what Jafar had said before getting knocked upside the head once more._

 _Another set of spots appeared in his eyes as he fought for consciousness._

 _He could faintly someone speaking in the background._

 _"Answer- what- you- stupid" were the only words he could make out._

 _Another_ _hit came upside his head before he blacked out._

The memory blurred and returned to normal after a few moments.

 _When Jay regained consciousness, Iago was staring right at him._

 _"You're in trouble."_

 _"What did I do?"_

 _"You should never ignore Jafar!"_

 _"I fed you; you ungrateful little-"_

 _"I'd be careful of what you say to me. Jafar still finds me more useful than you. That means that he'll listen to whatever I say: true or not." the bird insisted._

 _On the outside, Jay simply raised an eyebrow: challenging Iago._

 _Nevertheless, on the inside, he was completely shaking out of fear._

 _He knew that his father preferred the annoying bird over him but, it still hurt every time Iago rubbed it in his face._

 _The bird seemed to see right through Jay's confident facade. The bird's cackle could be heard all the way across the Isle. He even tumbled off the branch he was perched on._

 _Tired of watching Iago virtually insult and mock him, Jay decided to see his father and hopefully be able to beg for forgiveness._

 _As he left the room, he could practically feel Iago's triumphant smirk burning holes in his head. He won today; he knew he did._

 _Jay found his dad sitting down on a sofa: furiously rubbing an ancient lamp in hopes that a genie lived in there._

 _"Dad?"_

 _Jafar paused what he was doing and threw the lamp aside. He looked at his son with a wicked gleam in his eye and wore his signature sinister smirk._

 _In a sickeningly sweet voice, he asked," Son, what did you steal today?"_

 _Jay's heart pumped against his chest. Jafar was up to something. Nevertheless, he couldn't ignore his father once more; it would only lead to a punishment that would make Jay wish for death._

 _Jay laid out his stash of stolen items out on a table: watches, a tea kettle, scarves, and a rug. Jafar, for the first time in forever, seemed impressed._

 _"You did a fantastic job today," Jafar praised as he pat his son on the shoulder._

 _Jay's eyes widened in realization at what his father just announced. He praised him. He looked impressed. He touched Jay without the intent of harming him. Jafar never did anything like that. It was impossible._

 _But, maybe, Jafar was starting to change. Maybe he's actually satisfied with me._

 _No! He can't be!_

 _He's playing you._

 _Instead of voicing his thoughts, Jay simply thanked his father and rushed out._

 _Jafar had other ideas. He grabbed Jay's shoulder and yanked him back with the strength of a wrestler._

 _Jay landed on the filthy floor. He hit his head once more and the pain was excruciating._

 _He felt a hand grip his jacket and haul him up._

 _With the one eye he was able to see clearly with, Jay could make out his father's figure. He looked beyond furious. It was unnerving and horrifying._

 _Slowly but surely, Jay felt himself being lifted up into the air until his feet were dangling above the floor._

 _If he weren't the one being hoisted up like this, he would surely be cheering his dad on. Sadly, he got the short end of the stick._

 _"So, this is what is going to happen: you are going to retrieve the scarves and the tea kettle. Then, you're going to stand near the fireplace. Simple enough? Good." He let go of Jay and watched as his only son crumpled on the floor in agony._

 _Once Jay got himself together and stood up, Jafar kicked him in the back of his knees, inflicting more misery._

 _"Stop laying on the floor! Doesn't I tell you to get the scarves and tea kettle?" Jafar taunted._

 _His head throbbed and reality started becoming hazy._

 _He could faintly hear Jafar laughing at him as he felt his body going numb. Jafar kicked, scratched, and punched until Jay's body was dripping with blood._

 _Jafar howled as he watched his son pass out in pain. "I guess I torture you later. It's no fun when you're unconscious."_

The memory blurred before focusing on the scene in front.

 _Jay slowly opened his eyes. His entire body ached from his last encounter with his father. He could hear his father negotiating with someone else in the other room._

 _Jay stood up as every bone in his body cried in protest. He hobbled his way out of the shop and into the streets._

 _Jafar_ _would not be happy that Jay snuck out but, as of that moment, he didn't care. He just wanted to survive the night, even if it meant getting a_ _ruthless punishment the next day._

 _He ended up retreating to the same alley he was in with Mal earlier in the day._

 _Still bloodied and bruised, Jay hoped that nobody would see him in his weakest point. There is no chance of survival on the Isle if you're weak._

 _Wishful thinking got him nowhere as Mal ran into the alley and noticed Jay in all of his glory._

 _Mal then withdrew herself from the situation only to return with a first aid kit, rags, and a water bottle._

 _Jay didn't have to explain anything. Mal already knew what happened seeing as she was often found in a similar situation._

 _She silently tended to Jay's wounds as best as she could._

 _Jay stared at her, admiring the way she looked after him. As much as either of them hated to admit it, Mal was his only true friend on the Isle and vice versa._

 _Mal cleaned most of the blood off of Jay's face except the part around his chin and lips._

 _After a moment of hesitation, she wiped the blood in the area._

 _Jay couldn't help but look at Mal's own lips as she cleaned his._

 _When everything was taken care of, Mal couldn't help but notice Jay's intense stare at her lips._

 _At the same time, they both looked into each other's eyes; their faces mere inches apart._

 _Jay's breath was shallow and Mal's heart beat against her chest until it was the only sound audible._

 _They were stuck in their own world and for just one second, Jay gathered enough courage to lean in._


	4. Chapter 4: Jay's Past (Part 2)

_They were stuck in their own world and for just one second, Jay gathered enough courage to lean in._

 _His forehead touches hers as they gazed into each other's eyes._

 _They've only done it a couple of times but, without hesitation, they just decided that there was nothing left to lose._

 _Simultaneously, they laid right hand on the other's right shoulder and pushed each other back._

 _A second later, they both stood up and did a series of hand gestures, smiling throughout the entire event._

 _With a turn and a fist bump, they ended it with jazz hands._

 _"Yasssss! You didn't mess up," Mal exclaimed!_

 _Jay scoffed. "It's your fault I messed up the first few times. You made this hand shake way too complicated."_

 _"Hey! Buddy! It takes two to tango."_

 _"Luckily, we're not dancing."_

 _Disgust graced Mal's features as she barked, "Ugh! You're impossible."_

 _"Whatever! See you tomorrow." Jay smirked._

 _"Yeah, if you're still alive."_

 _"I'm tougher than that."_

 _"Yeah, let's see how long that lasts." She snorted_ _as she placed her hands on her hips._

 _Jay's lips formed a thin line. He knew she was right._ _He always came crawling to her when he needed help. But he wasn't the only one; she did the same._

 _They had a system: an unbreakable one. Beaten and bruised, they'd always help each other out._

 _They certainly weren't friends; they were allies._

 _Still, it was a bond that wasn't worth shattering. Making an enemy of Mal was truly frowned upon and should never happen._

 _With a nod, he turned around and headed back to the shop._ _It was their silent thank you._

 _As he trudged his way back home,_  
 _series of possible punishments for him formed in his mind, making him paranoid._

 _When he neared the entrance of his father's shop, he could only hope that Jafar was calm. Naturally, he was wrong._

 _ **BANG!**_

 _It sounded like there was a riot going on in his house._

 _No matter how much his mind protested, his curious eyes got the better of him._

 _In that moment, Jafar was everything you ever feared._

 _He looked downright murderous. The usual wicked glint intensified with every passing second._

 _Pots, chairs, scarves, and every piece of merchandise in the shop, except for the lamps, was thrown and damaged in some way._

 _And in the center of all that was happening, Jafar had a butcher knife in his hand._

 _Constantly swinging it, the knife occasionally buried itself in a wall, making a large indent. Judging by the holes in the wall, Jafar had been at it for a while. It seemed as if there was a dent every 6 inches._

 _Iago screamed at his master to calm down, but it only appeared to anger him more. "Jafar! Calm down! This is doing nothing for you! You have to plot revenge with grace. Lure your son back. Have you lost it?"_

 _Finally having been fed up with the bird, he swung his knife at his beloved sidekick._

 _Iago barely dodged his death, sacrificing a few feathers in the process._

 _Hurt flashed through the bird's eyes and he flew out the window Jay was looking through. Neither of them noticing the son of Jafar._

 _Horrified, Jay turned around and ran for his life._

 _The memory blurred and returned with Jay in Mal's room._

 _He told her about Jafar's crazy antics while she sat there, expressionless._

 _"How crazy can one person be? You know what? We are going to teach your daddy a lesson." She stood up so fast that Jay could feel the breeze._

 _He tried to hold her back but, she pulling him with her with the strength of ten oxen. Jay helplessly held onto her for dear life until they reached the shop._

 _With cautious eyes, both of them peered into the window._

 _Jafar was sprawled out on the floor, like a starfish, sleeping. Dried blood was everywhere. From the looks of it, the source of the blood came from the gash on Jafar's forearm; which was still bleeding._

 _Jay's heart shattered at the scene in front of him. Even though his dad inflicted more pain on him than what he did to himself, Jay couldn't help but pity the old man. This was the almighty Jafar, one of the most heinous villains of all time, absolutely vulnerable._

 _While Jay felt sympathy, Mal felt nothing but absolute satisfaction upon seeing Jafar in this situation. She even suggested trashing the place and drawing on his face as a cherry on top of the ice cream._

 _Jay immediately refused and dragged Mal inside to help him clean up. She whined about having to clean but, did it anyways. Meanwhile, Jay cleaned his dad's wound and bandaged it up. When he made sure his father was fine, he helped Mal finish cleaning the place. Although Iago was still nowhere to be found, Jay was certain he would come back before sun rise. He bid Mal farewell as she left unhappily, still not trusting Jay to be alone with his dad._

The memory blurred and refocused after a couple of seconds.

 _"Jay! Jay! Wake up!"_

 _Jay slowly opened his eyes and was greeted to the sight of his father staring him right in the eye._

 _Jay jumped back and hit his head against the ground. Jay had fallen asleep on the floor._

 _Jafar smiled and told his son to join him for breakfast._

 _They ate stale bread with coffee as dark as their soul. Jafar thanked his child for taking care of him and even gave him a pat on the back._

 _For the first time in his life, Jay genuinely felt as if Jafar loved him._

 _Jafar made tea for the two of them as they sat in front of the fireplace. They talked for a bit before he asked Jay to help him hang a picture on the wall._

 _As his son occupied himself with the picture, Jafar hit him with the tea kettle. Jay fell to the ground and groaned loudly._

 _In matter of seconds, Jay was tied next to the fireplace by a scarf._

 _With the evil glint back in his eye, Jafar resumed the punishment for his son._

 _Jay didn't fight back. He couldn't. So, he just hung there, taking every punch and kick that came his way._

 _Eventually, his body became numb and he could no longer feel pain._

 _The emotion he felt was betrayal. His own father betrayed him but, did he really expect anything else? Looking weak was Jafar's worst nightmare and not only did Jay and Mal see him in that situation, they helped him._

The memory became blurry, indicating the end to watching another VK's childhood.

Everyone let go of each other's hands. No one spoke.

There was not one AK in the room with dry eyes.

Nevertheless, Jay's expression hardened and became stoic. His walls stood guard as he anxiously waited to be evaluated by his friends.

Audrey no longer wasted any more time. She wrapped him in a bone crushing hug and silently cried in his shoulder.

He could feel his shoulder getting wet and didn't even care. He simply wrapped his arms around her, accepting the moment of weakness- no, the hug.

She never wanted to let go but, Jane kept on insisting to let him go. In the end, she pulled Audrey off.

Nearly everyone in the room had given Jay a hug. The excessive display of emotions drove him to the point where he was so touched that his friends cared and incredibly annoyed because his friends cared.

"Okay. You guys can calm down now. That happened a long time ago." Jay reasoned.

"Was that your worst memory of him?"

Jay looked up and around until he found the source of the voice. He looked Audrey dead in the eye and said yes.

Mal had to restrain herself from snorting. It didn't take a genius to put the puzzle pieces together and find out that Jay was obviously lying.

No, it just takes someone who knows how to read body language or someone who isn't as gullible as the AKs.

Satisfied with his answer, everyone fell back into place, knowing that the next memories were possibly the worst ones.

"Well, I guess it's my turn."

All of a sudden, Jane blurted out, "You do not have to this. I-I don't know if I want to see what she did to you." Tearing up all the way through her little outburst Carlos let go of Evie's hand so he could hold both of Jane's.

He looked her dead in the eyes and assured her that he didn't suffer much. Of course, she did not believe him. In spite of that, his next words did leave her and everyone else speechless.

"It's not about what she did to me. It's about what I almost did to her. It's about the person I almost became."

Locking his hand with Evie's, the memory started.

* * *

AN: Hey guys, I am really sorry for the late and very irregular updates. To tell you the truth, I didn't think anyone would actually read this story. So, I published the first chapter without a developed plot line.

I have just been writing when ideas come to me. I do have an idea of what will happen to the story along the line, but, it is a little difficult because I usually cannot find the correct words to describe the scenes I see in my head.

I know these past chapters aren't very good but, you know, I am just trying to figure out my writing style. This goes along with me trying to keep this story as light as possible. I have thought of much darker and malicious versions of this story but, I don't want to do that. I want to keep those kind of scenes a little bit vaguer, like the one when Mal showed them what she used to do. I don't know how to explain it. Just know that I am not planning to take this story TOO much into detail when I write those kind of scenes.

On a another note, Carlos' story is one that I have been so excited to write, I am just trying to figure out how to mash all of my ideas together while trying to do what I explained in the paragraph above me.

In conclusion, I want to thank each and every one of you for being so patient. It means so much to me. Thank you. If you're still reading, comment something about what you think will happen in the next chapter. Who knows? I might include some suggestions in the story. I'll even tell you if we have the same ideas.

nerdycook24 out! (mic drop)


	5. Chapter 5: Carlos's Past

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Descendants!

 _"Carlos! Come here!"_

 _"Yes, Mommy."_

 _A little boy, about eight or nine, came running into the living room. He wore a black and white leather jacket with red sleeves and black and white shorts. He was barefoot._

 _"Come here."_

 _He stared at her, patiently waiting for an answer._

 _"Mommy loves you so much," she turned to look her son in the eye, "Wash my car."_

 _He nodded once more and ran off. Stopping in his tracks, he went back to the living room to kiss his mom on the cheek. He found her talking to her coats: saying the exact same words she had said to him._

 _Confused, he closed his eyes and envisioned the conversation all over again. Being the intelligent boy he is, he figured out that he stood directly in front of his mother's favorite fur coat._

 _Tears welled up in his eyes as he ran out to go wash the car, maybe then she'll love him._

 _The memory blurred for a moment before returning to normal._

 _This time, Carlos was around 12 years old._

 _"Carlos! Carlos!" Cruella burst through the door._

 _Carlos turned around fast enough that it could've given himself whiplash._

 _"Why is my car not washed?!"_

 _His eyes widened. "I'm sorry, it's just that I-"_

 _She cut him off, "I don't care. Go wash it now and then we'll discuss your punishment."_

 _She left the room and he knew that there would be no talking involved when it came to his punishment._

 _He rushed to wash and he finished just in time for Cruella to come outside. She marveled at how clean it was. It almost made Carlos believed she was impressed._

 _Her face turned sour. "Oh, but you missed a spot," she beckoned him to come see a blob of dirt on the car door that definitely wasn't there before._

 _He was about to apoligize when he saw his mother's hand covered in dirt. He didn't want to believe that his own mom would sabotage him like that but, the evidence was right in front of him._

 _She smirked. Cruella knew he figured it out but and he wouldn't dare say anything._

The memory blurred and refocused.

 _Carlos was laying on his stomach, blood pouring out of the wounds on his back._

 _Tears rolled down his face but not a sound was heard._

 _He tried to pull himself up, wincing at the movement._

 _With no other optionhe washed the rags he used to clean the car with, trying to get all the gunk off and failing miserably._

 _Not wanting to waste anymore time trying to clean something so dirty, he tried to clean his own wounds._

 _It stung like a thousand needles being pierced into his skin each time the cloth came in contact with his body. The boy's face was wracked with pain but, he persevered anyways._

 _After what felt like forever, his wounds were clean enough and bandaged._

 _Out of nowhere, it seemed as if the world had started to spin around him. Yellow spots danced in his eyes multiple times before disappearing completely._

 _With each step he tried to take, the floor seemed to spin in circles. One foot in front of the other and next thing you know, they were up in the air._

 _His head collided with the floor, his body immediately following._

 _Hadn't he had enough?_

 _Of course he had. Nobody cares though. I mean, who would?_

 _Well, nobody besides-_

 _"Carlos!"_

 _With every passing second, the sound of the mystery person's feet drew closer and closer._

 _The person stooped down to the white-haired boy's level._

 _The face of the mystery human happened to be blurred out but, the rest of the VKs knew exactly who it was._

 _"Oh Carlos, what did she do to you?" The mystery person tried to help him but, Carlos resisted. "Carlos, you have to let me help you."_

 _Carlos shook his head, "No, just leave me here."_

 _"Carlos," the voice cracked, "I can't do that. I won't."_

The memory blurred and returned to normal.

 _This time Carlos looked a thousand times better._

 _The bruises were still there but seemed to be healing. There was a tiny faint scar on his face that for sure wasn't there before, but, maybe it showed up after he involuntarily kissed the ground._

 _One thing was for sure, he was more or less, okay. Well, okay by Isle standards._

 _He even appeared, happy?_

 _No._

 _Nobody on the Isle was ever happy. Perhaps he was, for lack of a better word, reassured. Reassured that he no longer had to be on alert 24/7._

 _But why?_

Suddenly, the world became bleary before refocusing.

It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

One by one, everyone let go of the other person's hand.

Carlos dared to meet the AKs eyes but, not one of them felt the same way.

As for the VKs, Carlos did not even want to see any one of their expressions because he knew that if he did, he would no longer be able to contain himself.

"That can't be it," a voice finally interrupting the silence.

Jane was angry. All that suspense leading up to his memories and those were supposed to be the worst of it?

She balled her fists and clenched her teeth in an attempt to contain her anger.

He was lying. He did not share the worst of it. There had to be more to the story.

But, did she really want to know? Could she handle any more?

She had to.

"That can't be it," Jane repeated. The fairy goddaughter looked the son of Cruella in the eye, challenging him. "You're hiding something. You don't want us to know something. You don't want me to know something."

Mal, Jay, and Evie glanced at one another. Of all the people in the room, they expected Jane to be the most trusting, to be the most oblivious.

"What are you hiding?" She took his hand in her hers and squeezed. The tears she had so desperately been trying to hide finally escaped.

Carlos pulled into a hug as sobs wracked his girlfriend's body.

He understood that life wasn't fair but why would life, his life, make his angel cry?

As her cries lessened, she slowly pulled away until they only held hands.

"Do you think you can take the worst of the worst?" He asked.

Jane simply nodded.

"Do you want to risk the chance that you'll look at me differently afterwards?"

"My opinion won't change," she locked hands with Audrey and the chain continued until everyone was holding hands and the world started to blurr once again before focusing once more.

 _Carlos was older this time. Perhaps this was only a couple months before coming to Aurdon._

 _When he ripped his shirt off, it was the beginning of all the skeletons in his closet falling out._

 _Everyone would be lying if they said that they weren't surprised when they saw his condition._

 _Scars._

 _Scars littered his back, some new and some old. While some were starting to disappear, most of them were visible from a mile away._

 _He cracked his neck before grabbing a box out from under his bed. He gingerly took the lid off and just stared inside which only fueled the viewers' curiosity._

 _He reached inside and pulled a shiny silver dagger out._

 _With a wicked glint in his eyes, he held the dagger in his calloused palms and threw it._

 _The knife sliced through the air and imbedded itself into the wall._

 _He reached back into the box a couple more times to pull out more daggers. Each one hit the wall with a satisfying 'thud'._

 _As he took a step back, a picture was revealed._

 _Crossbones._

 _Then, one by one, he yanked each blade out of the wall and placed it into his box with the exception of one._

 _He held his last dagger in his hand and simply gripped it so tight his knuckles ghostly white._

 _He made his way to a sleeping Cruella. A small smile graced her features. She almost looked, normal._

 _How the young boy longed for his mother's love. How he did anything and everything for her yet, it was never enough._

 _However, in that moment, he just wanted her to feel his pain._

 _With the knife making its presence known once again, blood trickled down Carlos' fingers._

 _His chest heaved as his heart rate increased. He shut his eyes so tight, he was afraid he would never see the light of day again._

 _Wouldn't it be evil?_

 _Would everyone finally take him seriously as a villan if he did it?_

 _Would he make life worse for himself if he did go through with his plan?_

 _It took a herculean effort but, one foot in front of the other and he found himself back in his room._

 _Thoughts of what might have been plagued his mind and rendered a home for dark circles under his eyes._

Everyone was pulled out of the memory and Carlos let Jane and Evie's hand go.

Not a word was uttered but the sound of crying filled the air.

Before anyone could say something or come to comfort him, Carlos put his hand up. "I was so tired," he kicked his lips. "I was just so tired of everything: being her slave, being her son. I wanted all that to be over.

Jane pulled him into another bone crushing hug. She didn't know what to think of his past and frankly, she wasn't sure what she wanted to think.

Sure enough, her shoulder felt wet. Tears streamed down the boy's face and hiccups echoed through the room. "I almost-"

She patted Carlos's back. "I know."

The sweetest, seemingly most innocent VK to come form the Isle, was broken and nobody truly understood that.

When everyone had calm down enough to form coherent sentences, they all showered the son of Cruella with hugs and messages of love. However, to those who understood him better, they knew that he didn't want pity. So, they settled for a hug and a pat on the back.

Afterwards, the AKs and VKs all settled down and enjoyed the pizza that Ben had ordered earlier.

"Is that why you never change in the locker room with the rest of us?"

"I thought that was obvious," Carlos sighed.

Ben put his arms up in the air like the cops were there. "Just asking man."

"Cruella de Vil is a vicious and maniacal. She has no heart and cares for no one but herself and her furs." He took a deep breath, "She treated me as less than human and made me wish I had never been born every day."

Jane squeezed his hand and nodded in reassurance.

"I thought that if I could make her feel my pain or-" Carlos licked his lips, "Or perhaps end my misery by ending her. I thought it would be easy. I thought I'd feel relived but I couldn't even go through with it. I'm weak."

"You are not weak Carlos Oscar de Vil. So stop berating yourself." Evie's voice cracked, "You are awesome and after what I just saw, probably the strongest person I know."

Not one person disagreed and showered him in compliments about his perseverance. The young man was both grateful and annoyed at the same time.

He knew he shouldn't feel negative but, he disliked the pity that came with the positive words that were thrown at him.

In Aurdon, the residents are all so happy and jolly. Most of them learned to tolerate the kids of their sworn enemies and many accepted the children and became friends.

Although, he appreciated everything, he just couldn't believe it was truly real. He would not dream of saying this in front of the AKs, but, Carlos still wasn't used to most of the population actually being so... caring.

It's safe to say that every single villan kid will have some sort of case with trust issues but, none more than Carlos. Years with the fur-obsessed maniac had made him tough in some ways but completely vulnerable in every other way.

Why else would he have needed-

"I'm glad you guys shared your pasts with us," Ben admitted. "I'm sorry I just brought it up out of nowhere."

The VKs simply nodded their heads.

Mal bit her lip, "I think it would be best if the four of us could just be alone for a bit."

There was no question as to who she was referring to so, all of the VKs left to Mal and Evie's dorm.

After what felt like an eternity of silence Mal sighed, "I'm not sure if I feel scared of relieved that we told them our story."

"Oh please, it's not like we told them the whole truth."

Mal turned her head so fast, it might as well given her whiplash. "Carlos, what are you talking about?"

He just chuckled, "What? It's not like we really confessed everything."

"How could we? They wouldn't have been able to take it." Evie blurted out.

"I guess. I mean, just imagine how Doug would react to you almost leaving us and not coming to Aurdon."

Mal's eyes widened. She tried to defend Evie but Carlos wasn't done.

"Or what Ben would do when he found what happened to Mal and one of her past relationships," Carlos said as he put air quotes around the last word. "Or better yet, how Jay and Mal-"

"Stop!" Jay yelled. "Carlos, you're crossing the line."

"Yeah. I guess I have. Truth hurts. Doesn't it?"

"Why are you being like this?"

"Because it's not fair," Carlos crossed his arms. "I spilled all my secrets, why didn't you spill yours?"

Jay clenched his fists. "Okay! Fine! I may not have told them everything but, neither did you!"

The younger boy cackled, "What did I hide?"

"Shane!"

Carlos eyes hardened. Next, he smirked as he seemed to have lost all traces of sanity in his eyes.

It was only then Jay realized her mistake, "Car, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Of course you meant it!" He burst out in laughter and jumped up and down. "You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it!"

As he proceeded to run around the dorm laughing maniacally, Evie tried to calm him down.

After a couple moments, he turned around to face her and pointed his finger, "Don't tell me to calm down. Do not tell me to calm down!" Carlos dropped his finger, "My actions are completely valid."

He looked every single one of them in the eye, "I'll come here at 4, ready to tell all. Whether or not everyone is here to listen, well, I guess we'll find out. But, if I spill, you guys spill too."

With that, he stormed out of the room back to his own.

"You just had to bring her up didn't you?" Mal asked.

Jay put his arms up in defence, "Okay, fine. I messed up. What are we going to do?"

"We'll do what he said," Evie stated. "We will tell the whole truth, no matter what happens."

The fierce determination in her eyes told Jay and Mal that there was no arguing. Reluctantly, they both nodded their heads.

"Should I bring popcorn tomorrow?"

Evie looked at Jay in disbelief while Mal rolled her eyes, "Sure, why not. I'll bring soda."

"M!" Evie exclaimed.

"What? It's gonna take a while so we might as well have food. Besides, that's how we'll lure the AKs in tomorrow. We'll say we're watching a movie."

Evie siged, "I'll bring plates and napkins."

"This is gonna be interesting," Jay concluded.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys! I cannot apologize enough for leaving y'all on a cliffhanger for that long. I promise I wasn't planning on doing that but, I just didn't know how to write all of my ideas down.

I was originally planning to post this chapter before Descendants 2 (which was awesome) but, I just didn't get to it.

Even now, I feel as if this chapter was incredibly underwhelming compared after all of the suspense that was built up.

After the movie, I was trying to figure out whether or not to continue the story like normal or to work with the new movie. After much deliberation, I have decided that this story will be set after Descendants 2, with a few minor changes.

In this story, Chad is not in love with Audrey. She likes Jay and vice versa and Audrey never called Chad to fix her car. Chad didn't want Lonnie to join the team for reasons explained later in the story.

So, yeah. Please please please forgive me for not updating in forever! Thank you guys for being so supportive and sticking by this story and yeah thank you.


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